Please connect with us!

Homes for the Holidays’ mission to serve single parents and underprivileged families begins with the story of our Founder, Warrick Dunn.

During our Founder’s inaugural season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Warrick founded Homes for the Holidays (HFTH) to honor his late mother’s dream of homeownership. The program partners with local community organizations to reduce the burden on new, single parent homeowners by fully furnishing their new house, providing downpayment assistance checks, and stocking the pantry with food.

HFTH was created from the belief that a better future starts with hope. In the wake of his mother’s death back in 1993, Warrick had used his mother’s life insurance to purchase a home for their family – a lifelong dream of Betty’s. It was in that home that the Dunn family found hope.

Today, Warrick Dunn Charities has expanded from our namesake Homes for the Holidays into three additional Programs: Count on Your Future, Sculpt, and Hearts for Community Service Scholarships.

Today, Warrick Dunn Charities has expanded from their namesake Homes for the Holidays into three additional programs: Count on Your Future, Sculpt, and Hearts for Community Service Scholarships. Together, our four programs are dedicated to strengthening and transforming communities by combating poverty, hunger, and improving the quality of lives for families academically, socially, and economically.

For more information about our Founder, Click Here. To see the timeline of our organization’s story, keep scrolling!

Together, our four programs are dedicated to strengthening and transforming communities by combating poverty, hunger, and improving the quality of lives for families academically, socially, and economically.

For more information about our Founder, Click Here. To see the timeline of our organization’s story, keep scrolling!

A TIMELINE OF OUR STORY

2022

200th Home Celebration

2017

HFTH Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Homes for the Holidays turned 20 in 2017, and celebrated bridging the gap between purchasing a house and the cost of creating a home for 155 single parents and 419 dependent family members.

Sculpt Program is Launched to Combat Food Insecurity

In 2017, Sculpt is started to combat food insecurity in Atlanta. Sculpt helps low income families by providing a nutrition and wellness program, conducting a pantry-fill, and providing knowledge resources like local food banks, healthy AND low cost recipes, and more.

2016

HFTH Reaches $2M in furnishings + $500K in Down Payment Assistance

By 2016, Homes for the Holidays had awarded more than $2 million in furnishings and $500,000 in down payment assistance to over 100 single parents and over 250 children and dependents.

150th Home Reveal

Warrick with recipient family of 150th Homes for the Holidays home

Warrick Dunn Charities celebrates its 150th Homes for the Holidays recipient family.

2014

Hearts for Community Service Scholarship Award is Established

Warrick Dunn Charities’ Hearts for Community Service Scholarship Award is established to provide a financial need-based award to students who are active volunteers in their community and are attending a post-secondary institution.

Count on Your Future is Launched

In 2014, Warrick Dunn Charities partnered with Country Financial and established the “Count On Your Future” program. Through the program, Country Financial representatives teach participants about proper budgeting, insurance, investing, and saving, to help them build a financially secure future for themselves and their families.

2012

Betty’s Hope Children Bereavement Program Launched

The Betty’s Hope Children Bereavement pilot program was launched in Baton Rouge, LA, and operated until 2015. It’s purpose was to help children deal with the loss of a parent, whether the loss was due to death, divorce, incarceration, or deployment.

2010

100th Home Reveal

cutting the ribbon at 100th Homes for the Holidays home reveal

Warrick Dunn Charities celebrates its 100th Homes for the Holiday’s recipient family.

2007

Homes for the Holidays Expands to Tallahassee

In 2007, the Homes for the Holidays program expanded to include families in Tallahassee, Fla., the home of Warrick’s alma mater.

2005

Buccaneers Linebacker Shelton Quarles Gets Involved

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shelton Quarles and wife Damaris assisted the Warrick Dunn Charities mission in Tampa in 2004 and 2005. Later in 2005, Quarles helped expand the program to serve his hometown of Nashville, Tenn.

2004

50th Home Reveal

Warrick Dunn Charities celebrates its 50th Homes for the Holidays recipient family.

2002

Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner and Warrick Dunn Charities Team Up

In 2002, the St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner and his wife Brenda began a partnership with Warrick Dunn Charities to serve the St. Louis community.

1998

Program Expands to Louisiana

In 1998, Homes for the Holidays expanded to include families in Dunn’s hometown of Baton Rouge, La.

1997

Warrick Starts Homes for the Holidays

During his first year as a running back in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Warrick started the Homes for the Holidays program in Tampa, FL. That same year he handed over the keys to the program’s first fully furnished home. The inspiration, Warrick says, came from his late mother. “I saw the way that she treated people,” said Dunn. “One, I saw her work ethic. And two, I saw, when we didn’t have anything as a family … she would give her last to people. She would help do small things, and that I think for me set…

WHERE WE ARE TODAY

221

Houses Furnished

583

People in Homes

$5M

In Donations

These numbers are the result of the generosity of our partners and individuals like you. Join our mission by donating, volunteering, or sharing our mission of “turning houses into homes” on social media.

Donate

Volunteer

Get Involved

Volunteers make our mission of empowering families in need possible.

Volunteer

GuideStar Seal of Transparency - 2018 Silver Medal

Phone: +1 (470) 585-1648

Warrick Dunn Charities, Inc.
235 Ponce De Leon Place
Suite M – 306
Decatur, GA 30030

IMPROVING LIVES / INSTILLING HOPE / INSPIRING COMMUNITIES

Get Involved

Volunteers make our mission of empowering families in need possible.

Volunteer

Follow Us on Social

Phone: +1 (470) 585-1648

Warrick Dunn Charities, Inc.
235 Ponce De Leon Place
Suite M – 306
Decatur, GA 30030

IMPROVING LIVES / INSTILLING HOPE / INSPIRING COMMUNITIES